The Honey-Blonde Mama

:: Our Big Island, Hawaii trip in 2016 ::

I will be about two months along by my first official OB appointment, next week, at Daegu Catholic University Hospital.  I remember how thrilled I was when I discovered I was pregnant for the first time, with Ava.  It was just hours before my husband was coming to pick me up from work, on his lunch break, to drive me to the airport for a long weekend visit to a friend of mine in Indiana.  Not my ideal scenario for surprising him with the news!  So I waited until I came back from my trip, and gave him a gift bag that had a box of chocolates inside, with a two-piece newborn outfit underneath the chocolates, and a positive pregnancy test.  I remember the excitement we both shared and driving to Fort Bragg that afternoon to stroll one of their wooded walking paths.  I also remember my husband saying a prayer of thankfulness and a blessing on our unborn baby.  It was a special memory that I will always have of our first baby.

Being pregnant with a second feels so different than the first.  Still exciting, just very different.  I told my husband by handing him a little box with a Christmas ornament that said, “Can’t wait to meet you in August”.  Our 2-year old grabbed the box before he did, and the note came out of the picture ornament and he didn’t even understand it when he read it.  Ha-ha!  But I showed him two pregnancy tests and that got the message across clearly enough.

I am so happy to think about our first-born having a sibling and friend and I cannot wait to see their dynamic together.  I realize it may be hard for her to adjust to someone new taking up so much of mama’s time at first, but we will get through that and I look forward to lot’s of mommy-daughter dates together.

I was never sick with my first and didn’t honestly experience really any symptoms at all until I was well into my second trimester, but more so in my third.  In my late second trimester I had really sore feet (probably due to improper footwear…such as flat sandals) and could hardly walk without wearing my Keen-brand shoes.  I also had acid re-flux in my third trimester that made it hard to sleep.

With this second pregnancy, symptoms have shown up much sooner.  Bathroom breaks are frequent, exhaustion is intense, I had morning sickness all last week (feeling a lot better this week), and have had some food aversions.  Strangest aversion is hot coffee.  The thought of it makes me sick, so I make my own cold-brew with this pitcher from Amazon. It’s only $18!  

Another thing about this being my second pregnancy, is that I am less nervous.  I’m sure that is pretty normal.  I’ve done it once before, so not immediately seeing my OB as soon as I find out I am pregnant doesn’t worry me, thinking about the baby and worrying over it happens less because life with a toddler keeps me busy–and I am thankful for that!  I also have online college classes starting again this month and that keeps me pretty busy as well.  Staying busy has been a good thing for me and I am looking forward to classes starting back.  I like having goals and seeing them accomplished, whether it’s cleaning my house or knocking out college courses!

:: Holland, Michigan in 2016 ::

I already miss holding a little baby and keep feeling that Ava is growing up too fast.  <insert sad face>  Thank heaven for babies!  It’s exhausting work, but the more work we put into something, the more rewarding it is–can I get an amen?! 🙂

2017 was so full of blessings, with a pregnancy announcement being one of them, and my husband being promotable to Major being another!  I am SO proud of him.  With that news comes another PCS move and in only six months because of the upcoming promotion.  But it means we are heading back to the states, and this time to Charlottesville, Virginia!!  I am really looking forward to being closer to family and to spending the holidays with them this year.

God has been so good.